The Shadow Lord's Regret
Baek Jinwol, the master of the assassin organization Mumeong and a powerhouse of the underworld, could not make sense of what his daughter was saying right now.
"...So, you're telling me you're abandoning the request?"
"...Yes."
"No matter how much of a successor you are, I am still the master of Mumeong. And you want to give up this monumental first mission? A request so simple it's like wringing a chicken's neck? Are you serious?"
At Baek Jinwol's words laced with anger, his daughter could only keep her mouth shut.
"...If you let me skip just this one request, I'll carry out every single one that comes after, no matter what they are."
"Easy for you to say."
"...I'm sorry."
"What is the reason?"
"Pardon? Ah, that's..."
Clicking his tongue at his flustered daughter, Baek Jinwol spoke.
"Tsk. I'll make a decision on this matter later. Stay quiet and wait until the next request comes in."
"Yes. Understood."
What Baek Jinwol had given his daughter was a house arrest order. She was quite surprised that her usually cold-blooded father had ended the reprimand at this level, but she soon whispered in a low voice.
"...Thank you. Father."
Her face flushed slightly at her own words, and she quickly vanished into the darkness.
"It's been a while since I've heard that."
The word 'father' doesn't sound so bad.
Baek Jinwol quietly stared at the spot where his daughter had been standing.
"Heh heh..."
A moment later, he let out a hollow laugh.
Baek Jinwol knew. He knew that his daughter was in love right now. And the target of that love was probably...
"Truly, a bizarre twist of fate."
He closed his eyes and recalled the past.
──What happened to Yeon? What happened to her?
──Didn't you hear she died of illness?
──What kind of nonsense is that! She was perfectly healthy just yesterday, so why...?
──Wasn't she your assassination target from the beginning? Have you forgotten your duty?
──Are you... joking?
──Just the fact that I let you have a child is already a mercy... Now get lost!
──Father! Father!!!
Just like his daughter, Baek Jinwol had foolishly developed feelings for his assassination target. And between them, a child was born. That child was Baek Seolha.
But he already had a wife and child. The moment Baek Seolha's existence was discovered, she became a target for the entire household.
The first to go was his wife. Shocked by the news, she left the house without a word. His father, in a fit of rage, poisoned her while Baek Jinwol was away. He couldn't blame anyone. It was all his own karma.
He wanted to follow the woman he loved and die right then and there, but he couldn't. Because Baek Seolha remained.
──I must at least let this child live happily.
Not wanting to leave his newly born child without parents, he became a cold-blooded man and rose to become the leader of Mumeong.
"It would have been better if that child had grown up properly..."
Worrying about the other child who wasn't here, he fell into thought for a moment.
──Did you ever really think of me as your child?
──I give up on being the successor.
──Let's never see each other again. Just looking at your face makes me sick.
Baek Jia. The half-sister designated as the successor before Baek Seolha. Even now, thinking of the daughter who had gone astray at some point left Baek Jinwol's heart uneasy.
Swallowing the bitterness in his chest, he simply looked up at the sky.
"Hanseong?"
"...Ah, yes."
"Why are you spacing out? Let's start cleaning up."
"Yes. Boss, you can head out first. I'll finish the rest."
"Really? Well, there's not much left anyway. Let's wrap this up quickly and rest. You don't look so good. If something's bothering you, just say it."
"...Nah, it's nothing. Go on ahead!"
"Alright~"
"...Sigh."
After the boss left, a belated sigh escaped him.
Why did she do that?
Seolha had hugged him tightly without saying a word for several minutes, then left with tears glistening in her eyes. All he could do was watch her go in a daze.
What should he have said to her? That they should meet again? Even though he now knew she liked him, could they really keep acting like before? And if she confessed to him soon, could he accept her?
The answer to that question could only be negative. He still needed more time. And though he really didn't want to admit it, it seemed he still had feelings for Eun-ah.
Without realizing it, he kept seeing Seolha as similar to Eun-ah, and if he mistook that for something else... he didn't think he could bear it.
Just as he was about to close the cafe door with a complicated heart, someone entered.
Ding—
At this hour... no way?
"Is that you, Seol..."
He had hoped inwardly, but it was someone else. His gaze was drawn to the silver hair that flowed down to her waist and her unique purple eyes.
A woman who looked to be in her early twenties, exuding a seductive charm, had entered the cafe.
She looks a bit like Eun-ah somehow... Must be my imagination.
"Ah, welcome!"
"......"
This person doesn't talk much either...
"Excuse me, miss?"
"......"
"It's time to close now, so please come back another time."
"...I came because of you."
"Pardon?"
"Clean up first. I'll wait outside."
With those words, she left the cafe. Or rather, she stepped out and waited right in front of the door.
What kind of person is she...?
He hurriedly finished cleaning and met her.
Her name was Baek Jia. Shockingly, she was Seolha's older sister. He couldn't hide his surprise when she added that she was her half-sister. No matter what era it was... it really was a complicated family.
"......"
Most of their conversation consisted of silence and the occasional nod. She was... how should he put it? Like a doll without emotions.
"Do you also know why Seolha can't meet me?"
"......"
She stared at him intently.
Damn, does that mean she can't talk?
"...I can arrange for you to meet her."
"Really? If you could do that, I'd be so grate—"
"In exchange, go on a date with me tomorrow."
"Huh? What the...?"
"Will you do it?"
She stared at him as if she would accept no objections, so he could only crouch down and answer.
"...Yes."
A date... He didn't know why she was suddenly asking this, but if it meant he could meet Seolha, he would do it ten times, a hundred times.
Just to be safe, he checked her affection level.
Affection Window.
As expected, it's just curiosity.
If her affection had been high, he would have been the one panicking.
"......"
"Then shall we end the conversation here for today?"
"...Use casual speech."
"Sorry?"
"Talk to me casually. And call me by my name like you do with Seolha."
"What? But I think I'm younger than you... that seems a bit..."
Glare—
"Y-yes. I mean... got it! Jia."
Only then did she smile for the first time.
She's pretty.
As he stared at her in a daze, she said,
"...It's burdensome."
Whoops, my bad! As expected, they didn't seem to be a good match.
Baek Jia. She was a natural genius. Whether it was studying or skills, she could learn anything with ease. Along with her innate beauty, her talent was widely known.
But there was one big problem. Her heart was closed off.
As a child, learning about her father's affair and the sudden appearance of a younger sister had given her a tremendous shock. Her mother had abandoned her, and her father poured more affection on her sister than on her. By the time she was old enough to understand, she could only feel disgusted.
To think a person like that is my father.
So she made a vow. She would never become like her father. She would not live enslaved to her emotions.
At some point, her face lost all expression. And she became able to say hurtful things to people without hesitation. Even her own family was no exception.
In the end, because she gave so little care, no one remained around her.
After several years had passed, when she was feeling the emptiness of life, she happened to see her sister.
"Huh?"
Her sister was talking with a man. Her sister didn't smile often—at least, that's how Jia remembered it. But right now, her sister looked happier than she had ever seen.
Crack—
It felt like something inside her had shattered. A flood of emotions surged through her.
"Why, why, why?"
Her chest ached. She couldn't accept it. The emotion she was feeling right now... it was nothing but base inferiority.
"Why... do you have everything?"
Not satisfied with Father's love, now she even had someone's affection...
"I deserve to be happy too... why..."
She felt a terrible loneliness, and soon began tailing and watching her sister. The more she watched her sister's happy face, the larger the emptiness in her own heart grew.
After several instances of surveillance, she learned a shocking truth.
"That man is her assassination target?"
Ha, how ridiculous.
This fact naturally made her think of her father. Of course, the situation itself was quite different. But she was no longer in a rational state, and her desire for revenge had twisted into the idea that she must steal that man away.
Yes. This is only natural.
Imagining her sister's despairing expression, a smile that she thought had disappeared long ago rose to her lips.